diff --git a/lib/model/db/db_extension.dart b/lib/model/db/db_extension.dart
index 385fff5e0..a0d2a6659 100644
--- a/lib/model/db/db_extension.dart
+++ b/lib/model/db/db_extension.dart
@@ -1,15 +1,13 @@
 import 'package:sqflite/sqflite.dart';
 
 extension ExtraDatabase on Database {
-  // check table existence
-  // proper way is to select from `sqlite_master` but this meta table may be missing on some devices
-  // so we rely on failure check instead
-  bool tableExists(String table) {
-    try {
-      query(table, limit: 1);
-      return true;
-    } catch (error) {
-      return false;
-    }
+  // check table existence via `sqlite_master`
+  // `sqlite_schema` is the alias used in SQLite documentation,
+  // but it was introduced in SQLite v3.33.0 and it is unavailable on Android API < 34,
+  // and the historical alias `sqlite_master` is still supported.
+  // cf https://www.sqlite.org/faq.html#q7
+  Future<bool> tableExists(String table) async {
+    final results = await query('sqlite_master', where: 'type = ? AND name = ?', whereArgs: ['table', table]);
+    return results.isNotEmpty;
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/model/db/db_sqflite_upgrade.dart b/lib/model/db/db_sqflite_upgrade.dart
index 1442aa13c..bf7e8b122 100644
--- a/lib/model/db/db_sqflite_upgrade.dart
+++ b/lib/model/db/db_sqflite_upgrade.dart
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ class LocalMediaDbUpgrader {
   static Future<void> _sanitize(Database db) async {
     // ensure all tables exist
     await Future.forEach(SqfliteLocalMediaDbSchema.allTables, (table) async {
-      if (!db.tableExists(table)) {
+      if (!(await db.tableExists(table))) {
         await SqfliteLocalMediaDbSchema.createTable(db, table);
       }
     });
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ class LocalMediaDbUpgrader {
   static Future<void> _upgradeFrom13(Database db) async {
     debugPrint('upgrading DB from v13');
 
-    if (db.tableExists(entryTable)) {
+    if (await db.tableExists(entryTable)) {
       // rename column 'dateModifiedSecs' to 'dateModifiedMillis'
       const newEntryTable = '${entryTable}TEMP';
       await db.execute('CREATE TABLE $newEntryTable ('
@@ -500,7 +500,7 @@ class LocalMediaDbUpgrader {
     // so we clear rebuildable tables
     final tables = [dateTakenTable, metadataTable, addressTable, trashTable, videoPlaybackTable];
     await Future.forEach(tables, (table) async {
-      if (db.tableExists(table)) {
+      if (await db.tableExists(table)) {
         await db.delete(table, where: '1');
       }
     });
diff --git a/lib/widgets/home/home_page.dart b/lib/widgets/home/home_page.dart
index 8ea841bf0..cc4cd1875 100644
--- a/lib/widgets/home/home_page.dart
+++ b/lib/widgets/home/home_page.dart
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ class _HomePageState extends State<HomePage> {
       ));
     } catch (error, stack) {
       debugPrint('failed to setup app with error=$error\n$stack');
-      _setupError = (error, stack);
+      setState(() => _setupError = (error, stack));
     }
   }